Monday, January 14, 2008

Growing Girls

It's been a while since we've posted - since the holidays, Christina has been back teaching for an intensive three-week session, Steve has been working from home/caring for the girls, and the girls themselves have been busy learning lots of new things.

Their progress is stunning to us as first time parents, although it's probably normal to most of you. Both girls now grasp objects they want, manipulate them, get them to their mouths, and throw them away. Both roll side to side regularly, swinging their legs around, and each has once or twice rolled from back to front and front to back. Luckily, neither is doing it consistently yet so we haven't lost either of them under the couch or swing yet.

They are getting SO BIG. Elena is 14 pounds, and Clara is 13. They are about 23 inches long now, and are really exercising their muscles. They both (but especially Elena) have super-strong leg muscles, and would stand all day if we balanced them that long. They are also working on sitting. Both can do it if you support them a little bit, and Elena can do it sitting in the Boppy, which is really minimal support.

Enough words- here are pictures! Some girls working on holding their heads up for longer periods:And Elena doing her Boppy-sit:All that sitting really tires her out! Elena looks like she could pass out here:Sitting on the couch is another favorite activity, now that they don't sway side to side as much as they used to. Here they are (Clara left, Elena right) in outfits their Grandpa and Grandma Mary sent for Christmas:We've had some warm-ish days lately, and we've taken advantage of them to take some snow walks together:One walk yielded our so-far favorite picture of Elena! Here's our little snow bear:Not to be outdone in cuteness, here is Clara during our pre-bath playtime at night. The girls both love a scarf that Nana Rose got Christina for Christmas, and we usually wave it around and over them. Here is Clara trying out her babushka look:And one more, right out of the bath. Is this a startled princess or what? Clara is not really ready for the paparazzi here, but she looked so cute in this bath towel from her birth mom and Gabe: